Liar Liar-a McRoll in the REAL World collaboration from Mari & Sammy
by sammy1026
Summary: Seemingly unrelated cases share a strange connection.
1. Chapter 1

_**Mari's Notes:**__ Sammy and Ilna, I thank my lucky stars for the two amazing friends I have in you. Your strength, talent and kindness simply blows me away._

_Sammy, another incredible co-writing experience. And your finishing this after the two weeks you've had is a testament to your incredible talent and dedication. Xoxox _

_**Sammy's notes**__: Mari &amp; Ilna, I am in awe of your talents. Your friendship is a gift and I am thankful that I found both of you each and every day._

_Sandy—In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart._

_To all the REAL Worlders—you guys are the absolute BEST! You make writing in this universe a pleasure. Your amazing support and enthusiasm along with all the reviews, tweets, emails and Tumblr comments prove what Mari, Ilna and I always say—our readers are THE BEST!_

* * *

**Liar Liar (1/2) **Part 2 will be posted on Friday.

**Rented Beach House**

**Diamond Head**

**Wednesday 8:45 A.M.**

"What have we got?" Steve asked as he and Danny descended the stairs to the lower level of a sprawling Diamond Head mansion. As they reached the bottom they found the Medical Examiner standing in the doorway to an elaborately appointed media room, complete with a theater-sized movie screen which sat in front of three tiers of overstuffed leather recliners. Immediately inside the doorway was a fully stocked bar and refreshment area surrounded by several plush sofas and loveseats.

The overturned coffee table and several upended chairs, combined with the debris scattered around the room, was a clear indication there had been some sort of scuffle. Laying on the floor in front of one of the sofas, surrounded by several large pools of blood and what appeared to be a few carefully placed items, was the obviously dead body of a man.

"What the _hell_?" Danny asked.

"It appears as though the killer was leaving a message." Max Bergman stood from where he was squatting next to the doorframe, observing the room from a low angle. He and his team had arrived ten minutes earlier in response to a call from the HPD.

According to Duke, a housekeeper arriving for a day of work discovered the body and called 911 immediately. Since it was clear even from outside the room that the victim was deceased, and since Max knew immediately the staging of the scene would be important to helping find the killer, he and his team hung back and waited for Five-0 to arrive. "The housekeeper identified the victim as Federico Trice."

"The professional basketball player?" Danny asked as Chin joined the group in the doorway. "What's he doing in Hawaii during the season?"

"According to the housekeeper he's recovering from a recent knee surgery," Max answered. "This is his vacation home. He came here post-surgery to rest and relax. He arrived last week and was scheduled to return to the mainland to start rehabbing the knee next week."

Steve looked at Chin. "Let's find out how many people knew he was here."

"Will do," Chin said. "Kono is gonna interview the housekeeper if that's ok with you. Turns out they know each other from school so maybe she'll be more comfortable talking to a familiar face. She's pretty freaked out."

"Understandable," Steve nodded. "As soon as she feels up to it I'd like to start putting together a list of anyone who might have visited this guy since he's been on the island."

"I'll let Kono know," Chin said as he turned and headed back up the stairs, passing Catherine on her way down.

"If I had to hazard a guess I'd say Mr. Trice had some… issues concerning his love life." Max indicated what at first appeared to be random debris on the floor but with a little study was clearly something much more. "I'll let you photograph the evidence before I enter the room to examine the deceased."

"Hey, Steve, Duke said you guys were … wow, okay." Catherine stopped behind Steve and Danny, her eyes taking in the room and the victim.

"Yeah." Steve ran a hand through his hair. "Cath, I need you to get into the room and kneel up on that stool and get the best birds' eye shots you can." He handed Catherine a camera he'd borrowed from one of crime scene techs. "We need to memorialize all this evidence so Max and his team can get to work and get us a cause of death."

"I'm on it," Catherine said, stepping gingerly into the room and climbing onto a barstool. She took several general pictures of the area before beginning to carefully document the items surrounding the body.

"That's just … damn someone had an axe to grind." Catherine snapped several final shots then hopped down from the barstool and made her way back to Steve's side.

"Thanks, there was no way that stool would hold mine or Danny's weight." Steve turned to his partner. "Now that we have the pictures let's see if we can figure out who's sending a message about Mr. Trice and why."

They crossed to the body and for the first time were able to get a close look at its exact condition. Steve was no medical examiner but it seemed clear to him the man had been dead for at least a day or more. He was sprawled in front of a white couch, naked, with a carefully torn-out magazine ad covering his crotch.

"What the hell," Steve asked as they examined the scene.

"If I had to guess … " Danny grimaced as he noticed a large pool of blood surrounding the man's hip. He was afraid of what they might find, or not find, when they lifted the ad from its position covering Trice's groin. "I'd say the killer was either a woman or was connected to a woman he is … or was … involved with. I mean … those send a pretty clear message." Danny pointed to the dozens of condoms scattered around the body.

Still in their wrappers.

"And why cover him with a magazine ad? No way that fell perfectly into that position. Someone put it there purposely," Steve said.

"Did you notice what the ad is for?" Catherine said as she joined the two men beside the body.

"Tritan condoms?" Danny winced as he looked at the brightly colored ad trumpeting the company's tag line, _'Wrap It Up'_.

"I think that confirms your theory that this is related to his love life in some way," Catherine nodded as she scrolled through the images she'd taken, checking to make sure they had everything they needed in preparation for sending the pictures to Chin. "Wait … Steve … they spell something."

She watched Steve steel himself before he gloved up and knelt to lift the magazine ad. Considering the amount of blood he wasn't sure what to expect. "He's … all there." He relaxed a bit and stood. "Sorry, Cath, what?"

"The condoms." Catherine held up the camera for him and Danny to see. "The spell out two words, well the same word twice, see?"

The condoms had been specifically arranged.

From the birds-eye view, they could see the words _**'Liar, Liar,'**_ written around the body.

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Wednesday 1:00 P.M.**

"Did you get anything?" Steve asked as Catherine approached the smart table where he, Danny and Chin were examining the pictures of the crime scene and waiting for Max's preliminary report on cause and time of death.

"A few things," Catherine said as she reached the table and inserted a thumb drive into one of its ports. "It seems Mr. Trice has a very active love life. He has four children by three different women. Though according to an interview he gave Sports Illustrated last year he has a good relationship with each of the women and pays regular, and quite generous, support for each of the kids."

"Still it's kind of hard to believe there are no hard feelings in a situation like that," Chin said doubtfully.

"It does seem unlikely," Catherine agreed. "But as far as I've been able to tell so far everything was going along smoothly until three months ago."

"What happened three months ago," Steve asked.

"A twenty-two year old NBA cheerleader named Crystal Vance sued Trice for child support claiming he's the father of her four month old daughter. He disputes that. There were some ugly accusations thrown around including a claim that Trice, his manager and his coach all attempted to pressure her into terminating the pregnancy."

"Those are some pretty strong accusations," Danny said.

"She also claims she was fired when she refused," Catherine said. "According to Crystal Vance's attorney they made every attempt to settle the matter out of court and keep it out of the press but when negotiations failed she was forced to file a lawsuit."

"What were the results of the court case?" Steve asked.

"I'm waiting for a call back from the attorneys involved but from what I can tell it looks like Trice submitted DNA for a paternity test last week and the case was scheduled to go to depositions as soon as he got back to New York."

"Ok, talk to all of the women involved if you can and try to get a feel for anyone other than Vance who might not have been quite as happy as they pretended to be," Steve said.

"I'm on it," Catherine extracted her thumb drive and turned to head back to her office.

"Chin, did Kono get anything from the housekeeper on who knew Trice was on the island and who's visited him since he arrived," Steve asked.

"She got a list of names. Mostly people from the mainland who flew in for a day or two but there were a few locals as well," Chin replied.

"Help her interview the people on that list. Find out if any of them had any hint of something bad that might be going on in Trice's life. Especially in the relationship department. Danny and I are gonna head over to the Ultimate Fitness center in Honolulu. Judging from some of the pictures around Trice's house he hangs out there. We're gonna talk to some people over there and see if anyone knows anything."

"Sounds good," Chin said. "I'll let you know when Max's preliminary report comes in."

"Thanks."

* * *

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence**

**Friday 8:00 P.M.**

Catherine brought a bowl of chips and two lemonades into the living room and, after placing them on the coffee table, settled next to Grace.

"Alright, I need lots of help, Grace. It's been years since I've needed cold weather gear. So let's start by spending my birthday present from your dad, okay?"

Grace nodded. "I made a list." She held up her notebook and Catherine couldn't help but smile. "You need at least two sweaters and a jacket, like a warm ski one, and a hat and scarf and gloves. Waterproof ones and then a cute pair."

She regarded Catherine's bare feet.

"Do you have boots? Not like cool boots, snow boots?"

"Nope." Catherine grinned. "I have what you call cool boots and combat boots, that's about it. I haven't been stationed anywhere cold long enough to buy any."

Grace placed her pad on the table next to the laptop. "Okay, jacket first. My mom always says to shop outerwear first. Then we'll move on to the other things."

Grace clearly had a plan and Catherine was happy to let her have fun with the whole experience. She was excited for the trip to New Jersey and to see Nonna and meet a few more of Danny's relatives, and so was Steve. But Gracie was excited in the way only a twelve year old girl could be. She was positively bouncing with joy at the thought of them all being together in New Jersey for the holidays.

Catherine laid the gift card Danny had given her for her birthday on top of Grace's list and typed in the web address. Title Nine's site popped up on the screen.

"Jackets first; let's see what they have." Catherine adjusted the laptop so they could both see the screen clearly. She planned to put Danny's generous birthday gift toward her jacket purchase.

"Here, Grace, look at these." The page showed all weather ski jackets. Catherine hadn't shopped for a winter coat in years and her clearest memories were of shapeless, bulky monstrosities meant for playing outdoors during the brutal Midwest winters of her youth, so she was pleasantly surprised to see that the jackets on the site were quite stylish with fitted contours and zippered sleeves.

"This one comes in grey and purple." Grace's eyes twinkled with mirth as she pointed to the exact jacket Catherine's had been drawn to immediately. "If you pick this one you have to get purple!"

"I like that one," Catherine said sincerely as she surveyed the other coats on the page and saw nothing she liked better. "I'm gonna get it."

She added it to the online shopping bag just as Steve came down the stairs.

"Hey Gracie," his tired face brightened at the sight of his beloved niece. He accepted her hug with a smile and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks, I needed a Gracie hug about now."

He moved to the couch and leaned down to place a quick kiss on Catherine's lips. "Trice's agent and the lawyer who was representing him in the child support case landed about an hour ago. Danny and I want to interview them right away. Since all of the women involved have strong alibis we need to talk to the people closest to Trice and find out who else might have wanted him dead in such a … " Steve glanced at Gracie, "specific and graphic way."

"Be careful," Catherine said. "Let me know if you find anything."

"Gracie, your dad and I are going back out," Steve turned to his niece. "He said you can either hang out here with Catherine or she can drop you at Linda and Josie's house later."

Grace turned to Catherine. "Can I stay? I know you're tired 'cause you and Auntie Kono did the last shift, so we can go to sleep early. But if I stay we can finish shopping for New Jersey."

Catherine smiled. "Of course you can stay. You have stuff here anyway and tomorrow's Saturday so you don't need a uniform. We'll get you dropped off in the morning, so let's finish shopping."

Grace nodded and smiled. "Yea! Okay, I promise we'll go to sleep by ten, Uncle Steve. Danno says you have to sleep to be alert. I won't let Auntie Cath go to bed too late, promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Steve grinned but Catherine could see the weariness in his eyes. "Hear that, Catherine? Gracie's enforcing curfew tonight, not the other way around."

"Got it." She winked at Grace and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Alright, let's do this. What's next? Boots?"

Grace spun the laptop toward Steve. "Yeah. But first, show Uncle Steve. I told her to buy the purple jacket, 'cause you think she looks pretty in purple."

"I think she looks beautiful in every color." Steve glanced at Catherine and she smiled her thanks, "But you're absolutely right about the purple. How'd you get to be so perceptive?"

"Must be nature and nurture," Grace answered matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Steve's grin reached his eyes this time.

"Yes. We just did a unit on genetics. Danno's a great detective and I'm his daughter so that's nature; and because most of us take on some traits of the people who help raise us, you guys are nurture!"

Grace didn't catch the look that passed between Steve and Catherine at her words. She was simply stating what she considered a fact. She considered them family. She knew Steve and Catherine loved her as much as she loved them, but her twelve year old psyche was years away from knowing the effect the words 'help raise us' had on her Uncle Steve.

Catherine knew Steve better than anyone ever had, often better than he knew himself, and the look of elation that passed over his face as his eyes moistened made her breath hitch a little.

She hugged Grace and said, "You're absolutely right, Sweetheart, but that brilliant mind," she tapped Grace's forehead and the girl grinned, "is one hundred percent your own."

By the time her eyes locked with Steve's he'd composed himself and was smiling happily, conveying his thanks for the distraction with a nod.

"Catherine's right, Gracie," he said. "But, if you do decide to be the world's best detective, after Annapolis and a stellar naval career, of course," Uncle and niece exchanged a chuckle, "make sure Danno knows that idea was one hundred percent yours, too." He winked. "I've gotta go."

He kissed Grace and Catherine and ran a hand over Cammie's head.

"I'll text you if anything breaks. If not I should be home by one the latest." He glanced at the dog.

"Cammie, don't let them run amok."

By the time Grace turned back to the laptop, the door was closing behind Steve. "Ohh," she pointed to the screen. "I love these boots. You're size seven and a half, right?"

"You know my shoe size?" Catherine selected a pair of Slim Stomper Boots and added them to the cart.

"I looked." Grace grinned. "When we were going through that last batch of clothes to look for tops that might fit me before you donated them. I need to know how long till we're the same shoe size."

"Ah, good work, Detective Williams number two; that means I can borrow your shoes when we are,

right?" Catherine poked her gently in the ribs and they giggled together. "Now, let's get this finished. I think there's some ice cream calling our names."

"Chocolate mint with chocolate sauce?" Gracie's eyes lit.

"Chocolate mint with chocolate sauce." Catherine pointed to the screen. "I'm gonna get two of these sweaters." She added a Henley top in black and another warm sweater in jewel tones to the cart, and at Grace's suggestion of 'cute socks', she added six pairs of warm, colorful ones and a purple and black hat and gloves. Just for fun she selected a green knit dress that was warm and sporty but nice enough to wear with tights for a casual dinner out.

"You need waterproof gloves, too," Grace reminded her.

"I have Navy issues, those are waterproof. I think I'm good. But ..." Catherine added the checkout info and hit send, "Let's get your Uncle Steve a couple of sweaters, some heavier weight pants and extra socks." She grinned. "Otherwise, he's gonna spend the week dressed in cold weather gear like he's on a mission." She navigated to LL Bean. "These guys have free shipping."

Catherine chose two sweaters and a Sherpa fleece lined pullover.

"In blue, Auntie Cath," Grace said. " 'cause Nonna said it's a good color for him."

Catherine smiled and added a six pack of wool socks, a pair of lined jeans and a couple of pairs of warm pants for Steve. After she was finished she clicked through to the girls' section.

By the time they were done shopping it was 9:00 P.M. and Catherine felt that between what she and Steve already had to layer with, his navy issue cold weather gear and what she'd bought, they were set for their visit to New Jersey. She also ordered a sweater for Grace that coordinated with the one she ordered for herself and a hat and glove set in pink and purple.

Just as she snapped the laptop closed her cell rang. Seeing Steve's image she said to Grace,

"Sweetheart, run and get the ice cream out for me? You know where everything is."

When Grace nodded and started off with Cammie behind her, Catherine swiped the phone and said, "Hey, what's up?"

"I just wanted you to know we got a bunch of names from the agent and the attorney we want to follow up on. Looks like it's gonna be a late night."

* * *

**Sherman Dentistry **

**Honolulu**

**Monday 9:45 A.M.**

Steve and Danny covered their noses as they entered the office of a local dentist who had been found dead by his office manager.

"What is that awful smell?" Danny asked as he covered the lower half of his face with his sleeve to keep from gagging.

"Manure," Max said from his position crouching next to the body. "I recommend nose plugs. There are some extras in the van if you'd like to use them."

"Thanks," Steve said. "I think we might take you up on that."

"Can you please go get some nose plugs for the Commander and Detective Williams," Max asked his assistant. "And perhaps it would be a good idea to bring extras for the rest of the Five-0 team when they arrive."

As Max's assistant darted from the room with a grateful smile Danny glanced around and saw multiple piles of what appeared to be very fresh manure. In addition, there were smears on the walls, the dental chair and the equipment tray Danny was sure were the vile smelling excrement as well. "How did cow manure get into a dental office?"

"I can't be sure without running further tests," Max said, "but I believe we're dealing with horse manure. Not cow manure."

"There's a difference?" Danny asked disgustedly.

"There's a big difference, Detective," Max said. "Horse manure is composed mostly of … "

"Okay, okay," Danny cut him off. "Spare me the science lecture. What I'm saying is that I don't think the important question is so much which animal the manure came from as why did someone bring it to a murder scene."

"Well then, that's a different matter," Max nodded. "The former is a question that requires my expertise. That latter requires yours."

Danny looked at Steve in frustration. "Can you help me here?"

"Let's step out into the reception area till we get those nose plugs. I think we'll be able to concentrate a little better when we're not dealing with the smell."

"You don't have to ask me twice," Danny said as he headed for the outer office.

"We'll give you a little time," Steve said to Max. "Let us know if you need anything."

* * *

**Reception Area**

**Monday 10:30 A.M.**

"Something about the very specific staging feels … " Danny started.

"Familiar?" Steve finished his sentence.

"Yeah," Danny agreed.

"Do you think this is related to the Trice case?" Steve asked. "What's the link?"

"I don't know," Danny conceded. "On the surface it doesn't seem like there is one. But there's something unnervingly similar about the two crime scenes."

"It's worth looking into," Steve shrugged.

"Oh this guy was apparently a real prince," Kono said angrily as she and Catherine approached Steve and Danny.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, slightly taken aback by the tone of Kono's words.

"The woman who discovered the body, Renee Simmons, was hired three months ago. She didn't know it until after she accepted the job but apparently the woman who held the position before her, who was here from day one and helped build the practice I might add, was fired a short time after she was diagnosed with a serious illness."

"What?" Steve said incredulously.

"That can't even be legal," Danny chimed in.

Catherine picked up the story. "Dr. Ralph Sherman, that's the victim's name," she practically growled, "fired his previous office manager, Patricia Kendrick, two weeks after she underwent surgery to treat cervical cancer."

"That's the reason he gave for firing her?" Danny asked, his own anger rising to match Kono and Catherine's.

"He didn't have to give a reason. Hawaii is an at will state," Catherine pointed out testily.

"There was nothing anyone could have done to touch him," Kono said disgustedly. "Except that this guy was a special brand of stupid. He sent an email to another employee, the dental hygienist, explaining that he fired Ms. Kendrick because he was afraid her treatments would cause her to take … let me get the quote right … too many sick days."

"You're right … a real prince," Steve spat out.

"Oh it gets better," Catherine said. "Patricia Kendrick is the single parent and sole support of an eight year old daughter."

"How can someone get away with something like that?" Danny asked heatedly.

"Unfortunately it happens more often than you think but this time the written email cooked the guy's goose. The hygienist passed it on to Ms. Kendrick then posted it online. It went viral. People were outraged … including many of Sherman's patients," Kono said triumphantly.

"Good," Steve said unapologetically. "So what happened?"

"There was some sort of settlement but we don't know the exact details. We're reaching out to Patricia Kendrick now," Catherine said.

"While you're waiting to interview her can you check and see if there was any connection at all between this guy and Federico Trice?" Steve asked.

"You think the cases are connected?" Kono looked confused.

Max's assistant crossed the reception area and handed several pairs of nose plugs to Steve who said, "Thanks," before handing a set each to Danny, Kono and Catherine. "Let's go look at the staging but trust me, you're gonna wanna use these."

Catherine and Kono looked at each other quizzically but took Steve at his word and inserted the plugs. They walked back down the hallway to the office where Max was still examining the body.

Wow," Kono said. Even with the nose plugs in some of the pungent aroma seeped into her nostrils.

Catherine grimaced slightly as she stepped into the office and began to look around at the staging.

There was definitely something familiar about it.

She stepped around Max to examine the room from a different angle and her eyes fell on some smears on the back of the door.

"Hey guys," she said, "take a look at this."

Danny, Steve and Kono entered the room and Catherine closed the door to fully expose the smears on the interior side.

"Well, now we know they're connected," Steve said as he looked at the manure smeared on the door clearly spelling out two words.

'**Liar, Liar'.**

END CHAPTER 1

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

_See ANs in Chapter 1_

_Thanks for all the AWESOME comments and reviews. You guys are the BEST!_

* * *

**Liar, Liar (2/2)**

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Tuesday 8:45 A.M.**

Steve, Danny, Kono and Chin stood at the smart table examining photos from both the Trice and Sherman crime scenes side by side on the overhead screens. They searched every frame for any clue they may have missed that would help point them towards anyone who might have wanted these two men dead. Some signature, aside from the words **Liar, Liar** that could help them identify the killer.

Catherine offered to stop by HPD on her way to the office and pick up a complete list of all items catalogued at each crime scene. Once she arrived the team planned to compare the two lists looking for any similarities that might point towards the killer or killers. In the meantime they searched for any visual clue they might have missed.

According to Max both men died as a result of multiple stab wounds to the torso. However, serious bruising on the faces, hands and torsos of each victim were a clear indicator they were involved in a serious fight for their lives before being stabbed. The size of the bruises along with apparent downward trajectory of many of the blows led Max to estimate the killer was well-built male over six feet tall.

It was obvious from the "**Liar, Liar**" message left at the scene of both murders that the deaths were related, but to this point the team had been unable to find any evidence that Trice and Sherman knew each other, or had ever even met. Trice wasn't a patient of Sherman's, they didn't travel in the same social circles, they had no financial dealings in common, didn't bank at the same bank or work out at the same gym. No one interviewed in connection with Sherman ever remembered him mentioning anything about knowing Federico Trice and vice versa.

There were no unaccounted for fingerprints at either scene and Max hadn't turned up any DNA evidence under the fingernails or anywhere on the body of either victim.

HPD was attempting to track down anyone who might have purchased the large number of Tritan condoms found at the first scene but so far they'd had no luck. Forensic testing on the manure found in Sherman's office indicated the presence of anti-inflammatory drugs and a specific antibiotic used to treat leg infections in horses. A check of local veterinary records led the team to Wahini Ranch, the largest recreational horse riding venue on the island and the site of several yearly rodeos as well as monthly polo competitions.

One of the horses at the facility was being treated with the drugs found in the manure in Sherman's office. However, because the manure was shoveled several times a day and placed in large piles on the property while awaiting disposal, and because the facility was open to the public seven days a week, there was no way of determining who might have helped themselves to some of the manure that later turned up in Sherman's office.

"We might have just caught a break," Catherine said as she entered the bullpen and headed towards them.

"We need one," Danny replied. "What did you find out?"

"Trice's housekeeper, Marisol, agreed to do a final walk-through of the house with HPD this morning before they released the crime scene. Duke wanted to check one more time to see if she noticed anything missing or out of place."

"Did she?" Chin asked.

"Nothing missing," Catherine said as she reached the rest of the team and placed a photo copy of a Hawaii state driver's license on the smart table. "But in the dressing room off the master bedroom she found a few pieces of women's clothing she's sure weren't there prior to Trice's murder. And along with the clothes there was a small clutch purse containing a lipstick, a compact and a driver's license."

"Keala Aleula," Chin read off the license as he typed the name into the computer. A few seconds later a series of records popped up. "Twenty-four years old. Single. Works in pharmaceutical sales." He tapped a few more keys. "Grew up on the island."

"Where is she now?" Steve asked.

"HPD went by her apartment," Catherine said. "Landlord said she stopped in over the weekend to pay her rent but she seemed nervous and jumpy. Other than that he hasn't seen her. Which he claims is unusual because he normally sees her almost daily. Duke is putting out a BOLO and checking with her employer. He said he'll call as soon as she turns up."

"Good," Steve said hopefully, "We might finally be able to get some traction before somebody else dies."

* * *

**Hawaii Volcanoes National Park**

**Thursday 1:15 P.M.**

Sgt. Duke Lukela met Steve and Danny as they got out of the Camaro in the observation point parking area and began walking toward the crime scene tape. "A couple of tourists hiking the lip of the volcano found the body about an hour ago. As soon as I saw it I knew you guys need to be in on this."

"Why?" Danny asked as they negotiated the uneven terrain to the spot where Max Bergman knelt next to the dead body of a man dressed in a business suit who had clearly not been out for a day hike.

"Take a look," Duke said as he pointed to a spot directly north of the body.

There was no mistaking the message.

Spelled out this time in black lava rocks.

"**Liar, Liar**."

Steve breathed a heavy sigh. "What do we know, Max?"

"My cursory examination indicates his cause of death is the same as Trice and Sherman; multiple stab wounds," Max reported. "I can't be sure until I get the body back to my office and conduct a full examination but it appears he also has bruises indicating some sort of altercation. It looks very likely this is the same killer as the other two victims."

"Yeah, I got that from the "**Liar, Liar**"," Danny said.

"I was simply saying," Max turned to face Danny, "that it appears that the actual wounds were caused by a single perpetrator and not a group of such."

"Don't mind him, Max," Steve said, attempting to soothe the medical examiner's ruffled feathers, "He hasn't had enough coffee yet. Do we have any idea who this guy is?"

"According to the ID in his wallet his name is Dallas Palmer," Duke said. "We're working on getting information on him right now."

Steve surveyed the surrounding area then took a few steps closer to look at the body. The scuffed heels of the man's dress shoes, combined with a fairly clear set of drag marks between the parking lot and the spot where the body was found indicated the altercation had taken place elsewhere. But the large pools of blood around the body definitely meant he was stabbed after the body was dragged to the lip of the volcano.

"Any chance there's a security camera in that parking lot that might have caught a picture of our killer," Danny asked hopefully.

"Sorry, no." Duke shook his head. "There are cameras down at the main entrance and in the ' center but none this far up."

"It's a longshot but have someone look at those tapes and see if they can spot anything suspicious," Steve said. "And run every license plate you can make out."

"I'll get someone on it right away," Duke said.

"Thanks," Steve nodded. "Let me know the minute you find anything."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 3:30 P.M.**

"What have we got," Steve said as he and Danny entered headquarters after finishing up at the crime scene. Chin was standing at the smart table, digging for everything he could find on the latest victim. Catherine was holed up in her office searching for a connection of any kind between the now three victims.

"Dallas Palmer," Chin indicated the picture on the overhead screen. "52 years old. Plant manager at International Plastics. He's worked for the company for twenty years. Relocated to the island in 2010 from California to oversee operations at the Honolulu plant. He has a wife and four kids. No criminal record."

"Let me guess," Danny said. "No obvious connection to Trice or Sherman."

"Not at first glance," Chin said. "Kono is over at International Plastics now interviewing Palmer's co-workers to see if any of them know anything."

As if summoned by the mention of her name Kono entered the bullpen.

"What did you find out," Steve asked.

"Nothing really," Kono sighed. "I mean no one there knew of any reason someone might want to kill him. Most of the women, and actually a few of the men as well, said he was kind of … skeevy is the word most commonly used. Stood a little too close, got a little handsy once in a while, made comments that weren't actionable but weren't exactly appropriate either."

"Sounds like another charmer," Chin said.

"I checked with their HR Department and while they admitted they'd heard some murmurs, and even talked to Palmer informally a couple of times about his behavior, no one has ever actually filed a complaint," Kono said. "When I asked some of the female employees about it they said that the company has a history of not promoting people they see as quote unquote troublemakers so as long as Palmer's behavior didn't cross the line too far they all kept their mouths shut."

"Talk to some of the women who were reluctant to file complaints outside of the plant. See if they're a little more forthcoming with details when they're not worried about who's watching," Steve suggested.

"Will do," Kono said. "The shift changes at 5:00 so I'll go back then and see if I can get anyone to open up to me."

"Good news," Catherine said as she hurried down the hall from her office to the bullpen. "HPD located Keala Aleula, the woman whose ID we found at Trice's house. She was holed up in hotel on the big island. They're bringing her back now. I'm gonna head over to HPD so I can talk to her as soon as she arrives."

"Keep me informed," Steve said. "We know from Max's report she isn't the killer but what we don't know yet is whether she's an accomplice or a witness. Tread lightly with her."

"I will," Catherine assured him. "I'll call as soon as I know anything."

* * *

**Sidestreet**

**Thursday 6:00 P.M.**

Steve left a message for Catherine to meet them at Sidestreet as soon as she was through interviewing Keala Aleula and the team headed out for a combination dinner and brainstorming session. Halfway there Catherine texted to let him know the interview was over and she was on her way. They'd just ordered appetizers and a round of drinks when she entered and slid into the seat next to Steve's.

"I ordered you a beer and some stuffed mushrooms," he smiled.

"Perfect. Thanks." Catherine returned his smile and gave his thigh a quick squeeze.

"What'd you find out," he asked as the waitress, a young woman who had waited on them many times named Sarah, appeared with their drinks.

"According to Keala she and Trice hooked up occasionally when he was on the island. She went to the house on Monday evening. Everything seemed normal. She says they ordered take-out, had a few drinks, soaked in the hot tub for a while, watched a movie then had sex on one of the couches in the media room and fell asleep."

"Typical day in the life, huh?" Danny said. "Then what?"

"She said about 5:00 A.M. someone started pounding on the front door. They waited thinking the person would go away but the pounding continued. Trice got up, grabbed his robe and headed for the front door. She said he was using his cane because his knee was still very tender."

"Who was at the door," Steve asked as Sarah appeared with the first of the appetizers.

"She has no idea. She's never seen the guy before. She said he was tall, practically as tall as Trice, and muscular. He started yelling about something almost as soon as the front door opened. She couldn't really make out what was being said but she could hear the arguing from the bottom of the stairs."

"Why didn't she call the police?" Chin asked.

"She said in her panic she couldn't find her cell phone. She figured she must have left it by the hot tub." Catherine lifted her beer to her lips and took a sip.

"So what happened next?" Kono asked.

"They got closer to the top of the stairs and Keala could hear Trice saying he had money and jewelry and the guy could have it all but the guy kept insisting he wasn't there to rob anyone. Trice was a strong guy but apparently his bad knee gave the killer just enough of an advantage. The guy grabbed the cane and once Trice was off balance he attacked. Trice tried to make it down the stairs to barricade himself and Keala in the media room but the guy caught up with him before he could close the door completely."

"So she witnessed the murder?" Steve asked.

"She heard it but she didn't see it. As soon as she realized they were coming down the stairs she grabbed her swimsuit and robe and hid in the tiered seating. Once she heard the struggling stop she said the guy hung around for a while. She could hear him moving around but had no idea what he was doing."

"That must have been when he was staging the scene," Steve nodded.

"Must have been," Catherine agreed. "She said she was so scared she didn't move for at least an hour after she heard him leave. Then she slipped out the back to the hot tub area, grabbed her phone and shoes and left in her bathing suit and robe. She didn't even go upstairs after her clothes and ID. She was afraid if the guy knew she's been there he'd come after her."

"Could she give any description of the killer?" Steve asked as he stole a mushroom from Catherine's plate with a grin.

"She only caught a very brief glimpse of him but she's sitting with a sketch artist now to see if they can come up with anything. And Duke is checking the security footage from all the cameras on the houses in the area hoping to catch a picture of a car pulling into Trice's driveway early Tuesday morning. I asked him to match the tapes with the cars pulling into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park hoping we can find a match."

"Good thinking," Steve nodded as he reached for another mushroom but had his hand slapped away playfully by Catherine. "This might be exactly what we need to solve these three cases. I'd like them wrapped up sooner rather than later so they don't mess up our trip."

"Nothing is going to interfere with the trip," Danny said confidently as he leaned back in his chair. "The power of Nonna will see to that."

They all laughed as Sarah approached to take their dinner order. Twenty minutes later they were enjoying their food and wracking their brains trying to think of where they could possibly have missed a connection between the three victims.

Steve lifted his fork to his lips and caught Catherine's expression as he glanced her way. Her expression was a very familiar one, and as his partner signaled for another round of drinks, he turned to her and said, "I can see the wheels turning, what are you on to?"

"Hmmm," she said, her brow knitted.

"You're onto something, Cath?" Danny noticed their exchange. He knew that Steve and Catherine shared a level of non-verbal communication unlike anything he'd ever seen before so if Steve thought Catherine was on to something, even without her having said a word, she most likely was.

She tucked a section of hair behind her ear and leaned forward, grabbing a clean napkin from the center of the table.

"Maybe." Grabbing a pen from her purse, she wrote,_**Liar, Liar**_**.** "I don't think he's taunting _us_, or anyone else. I think he's _labeling_ the victims."

"As liars?" Steve asked.

She nodded and pulled out her phone.

"Why write it twice?" Steve asked.

"The kids' poem." Catherine looked at the other members of the team before focusing back on the phone. "_Liar, liar, pants on fire_," She read from them the screen. Apparently, the rest of the verse reads,

_Deceiver, dissembler _

_Your trousers are alight _

_From what pole or gallows _

_Shall they dangle in the night?"_

"So maybe the connection is that the killer believes all the victims are liars?" Steve said excitedly, hopeful they might finally have a direction to focus the investigation in. "But still how would he connect them?"

Playing a hunch Catherine began typing web addresses into her phone's browser. After several unsuccessful attempts she pumped her fist triumphantly. "I found it. "

"Is that a real website." Steve leaned over and looked at the image on her phone.

"Yes," Catherine nodded animatedly. "And it's based right here in Hawaii. Let me look real quick," she said as she scrolled through the site scanning its contents "There are all sorts of forums where posters discuss people they think have lied to them and done them wrong. All we need to do is find out if our three victims were discussed in any of these forums and then look for anyone who might have been particularly angry in those discussions."

"How many forums are there to search," Chin asked.

"Over 400 separate threads," Catherine inhaled deeply. "And very few of them use the name of the person being discussed in the thread title. So we'll have to look at each one individually."

"Let's finish up guys," Steve said. "it looks like it's gonna be a long night.

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 9:20 P.M.**

"I found an extended conversation about Trice," Catherine said as she sat in Steve's office where the team was gathered searching the pantsonfire site. Steve sat at his desk, Danny and Chin in the visitors' chairs opposite him, and Kono and Catherine on the couch. "On the '_Monstrous Egos_' board, page 45."

She continued to read as the others navigated to the thread in question.

"Wow," Kono said as she located the discussion and began to read, "these posters are pretty worked up over the private life of someone they don't even know."

"I'll say," Chin agreed. "Listen to this. _'Where does he get off refusing to take responsibility for his newest baby. When he did that Sports Illustrated interview last year he said he would always take responsibility for his kids whatever the status of his relationship with their mothers. Apparently that was a lie'. _He read directly from one of the posts.

"'_Men like that make me sick,'_" Kono read from an entry further down the page, "_'Someday his kid will read stories on the internet about this whole mess.'"_

"Anybody who tries to point out that the results of the paternity test aren't in yet gets shouted down pretty fast," Danny said as he scrolled through the pages.

"I'm gonna print this out," Catherine said as she sent the document to the wireless printer. "Now we need to see if we can find the other victims."

After another two hours of searching Chin stumbled upon a discussion of Dallas Palmer, the plant manager from International Plastics. "I've got another one," he said. "'_Keep Your Hands To Yourself' _board, page 18. It's hard to tell sometimes exactly who they're talking about because they use code names or nicknames but finally someone comes out and identifies Dallas Palmer by name."

"'_I have to wear a freaking turtleneck to work every day to keep this jerk from looking down my shirt. And any time he walks past me he touches me and then claims it was accidental. Sadie in HR told me that when he worked at the Sacramento plant all the women hated him. When they offered him the promotion To Hawaii they made him promise he would behave better around the female employees. Well guess what. He lied.'"_ Steve read from one of the entries.

"I see a couple of names here that were also involved in the Trice discussion," Catherine said. "I'll print this out for comparison."

Finally at 2:00 A.M. they found a discussion about the third victim, Dr. Ralph Sherman. None of the women from the dental practice posted the information, or participated in any way, but the discussion got rolling after a copy of the email Sherman sent to his hygienist, detailing his plans to fire Patricia Kendrick, went viral.

In an attempt to do damage control once the email was made public Dr. Sherman actually posted on the pantsonfire site himself attempting to calm people down and keep his patients from fleeing in droves. He claimed he was actually doing Patricia Kendrick a favor because without a job and income she would be eligible for more social services, including food, cash and medical benefits, and would be able to concentrate on getting well without having to worry about getting up and going to work every day.

The posters on the site didn't buy his explanation and proceeded to tear him to shreds in a discussion that went on for more than a hundred pages.

"'_This guy is the scum of the earth and I hope he loses every patient he has and ends up bankrupt living on the social services he seems to think are so wonderful'_," Danny read aloud.

"Well I certainly don't disagree with the scum of the earth part," Kono shrugged.

"There were so many people involved in that discussion it's gonna be tough to single out any one person who might have been angry enough to take it to the next level." Steve winced as he scrolled through the more vitriolic responses. "I agree this guy is an asshole but threatening death and wishing cancer on him seems a little extreme."

"Now that we have threads about all three victims let's compare them and hopefully we'll be able to narrow down active posters and come up with a list of suspects." Catherine stood up and stretched before heading for the printer to retrieve the lists.

With all five members of the team working together it only took three hours to narrow the list of suspicious posters down to six.

"So now all we have to do is find out who these six people are," Danny said. "If anyone fits the general description we can show a picture to the witness from the Trice killing and see if she if she can make a positive ID."

"Sounds good," Steve said. "Let's get in touch with the website. Hopefully they'll give up the real names that correspond to the screen names willingly but if they don't we need to be prepared to get a subpoena."

"We may not have time for that," Catherine said guardedly.

"What do you mean?" Steve turned to look at her and immediately picked up on her uneasiness.

"I decided to look at the posting history of the six people on the list to see where they've posted about most recently. One of them, truthseeker71, was very active all day yesterday in the '_Politicians Behaving Badly_' forum. It's the same level of activity he displayed in the threads of all three victims."

"So wait … if this is our guy he killed Palmer, dumped him on a volcano, then went home and started posting on the internet," Danny asked incredulously.

"If this is our guy then yes," Catherine replied. "He appears to be furious over three state legislators who initially voted against a bill to allow some limited industrial activity on protected lands but then changed their minds and agreed to vote for it after the bill was restructured. He feels as though they sold their votes for perks."

"So one or all of these legislators might be the next victim," Chin said. "Send me the names."

"Apparently the re-vote on the bill is at 9:00 this morning." Catherine looked up from her tablet. "Truthseeker71's last post was three hours ago."

"Call Duke," Steve said. "We need teams on all three of these guys right away."

"It looks like he has a special hatred for Jack Markhum. That's the guy who represents his district. Truthseeker71 voted for him and feels especially betrayed because he promised during the election to protect natural resources."

"Get Markhum's home address and we'll head there ourselves," Steve said as he stood and grabbed Danny's car keys off the desk. "I'll call Grover on the way and get his team on alert."

* * *

**Home of Jack Markhum**

**Friday 6:00 A.M.**

By the time Five-0 met up with Grover and his squad and brought them up to speed on what was happening Steve had already received confirmation from HPD that both of the other legislators were safe.

Repeated calls to Markhum, however, had gone unanswered.

The team arrived at the house and immediately split up. Chin, Kono and Catherine went around the back of the house while Steve, Danny and Grover approached the front. As they got closer they could hear a scuffle going on inside. Steve gave the command to enter then kicked in the front door just as Chin kicked in the back.

They found Jack Markhum on the floor in the living room, battered and bruised but still alive. Looming over him a large man holding a very large knife.

"Drop the knife," Steve said calmly as everyone drew their weapon and within seconds six guns were leveled at the man's head.

"I can't," the man growled. "He's a liar. He deserves to die. They all deserved to die."

"I'm not gonna tell you again," Steve said. "Drop the knife. Then we can talk about things. But if you don't drop the knife I'm gonna have to shoot you."

For a minute it looked as though the man might stab Markhum anyway and Steve's finger tensed on the trigger. But finally he dropped the knife with a heavy sigh and put his hands behind his head.

"I just want people to tell the truth," he said as Catherine pulled his arms down and cuffed him. "Why is that so much to expect anymore?"

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Friday 7:30 A.M.**

"Truthseeker71's real name is Delonte Morris," Chin said as he entered Steve's office where Steve, Danny and Kono were relaxing after the bust. "He grew up on the island. His family has been farming the land for generations. As a matter of fact they've grown into one of the biggest farming operations in the state. Delonte and his brother were in line to take over the family business as co-CEOs until about a year ago."

"What happened a year ago," Steve asked.

"Delonte's wife left him for another man and he went completely off the rails. He pursued her

relentlessly insisting that she'd made a vow to him and he was going to force her to live up to it.

Eventually she filed for divorce and she and the new boyfriend moved to the mainland to get away from him," Chin explained. "His work started to suffer since he spent all his time focused on his crumbling relationship so when it was time to name a new CEO the position went to his brother alone instead of being shared between the two of them. At that point Morris stopped showing up for work altogether. He was apparently living on his share of the profits from a family trust."

"Did any of his family try to get him help?" Danny asked.

"They tried but he refused. At one point he pulled a knife on his brother and the family was forced to take out a restraining order keeping him away from both them and the farm. According to site stats he started posting on pantsonfire around that same time. His profile says that everyone in his life has lied to him. His ex-wife, his brother, his family. It looks like reading other people's stories just set him off. He couldn't get to the people in his own life so he was trying to right the wrongs others had faced."

Steve shook his head. "Well at least he can't hurt anyone else now. But I think maybe we need to take a closer look at that site and see if anything else might be festering. Venting anger and frustration is healthy but if anyone looks like they might be taking it too far someone needs to intervene."

"Duke talked to site owner and he said she's pretty freaked out about everything," Chin said. "He's pretty sure she's gonna shut down the site."

"But another one will pop up within a few days," Danny said.

"Probably," Chin agreed. "But I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Keala Aleula picked Morris out of a photo line-up so we can definitely connect him to Trice," Catherine said as she entered Steve's office. "I don't think she's ever gonna need to testify though because apparently Morris can't stop confessing. All the way through booking he's been giving details of all three murders."

"That's good," Steve stretched. "It'll save us a lengthy interrogation. After all we have a trip to finish getting ready for."

"I told you … never doubt the power of Nonna," Danny smiled as his phone chimed with an incoming text. He smiled as he glanced at his phone. "It's from Grace. She wants to know if we solved the case yet and if everything is still on schedule for New Jersey."

"Tell her yes," Steve smiled broadly. "All systems are go for Christmas in New Jersey with Nonna."

**THE END**

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